Contractors who predominantly work in residential construction have little need for surety bonds. But bonding is important for people who want to break into government work or who want to build doctors' buildings, professional offices, and other commercial/ industrial projects. If a contractor is going to get into development himself – for example, by developing small retail stores – he may want to know about bonding his subs, thereby guaranteeing their contracts with him. The federal government started bonding as we know it in the 1930s when it was pumping money into the economy by building. The government sought a way to guarantee that its projects would be built as specified. Its answer was the Miller Act in 1934, which
